Madrid or Barcelona?
 

We are spending a week in Costa de Sol and are planning to spend 4 nights in either Madrid or Barcelona. Anyone who can help us chose the best city?

I´m currently a college student studying in Madrid, although I´ve visited Barcelona twice. Personally, I prefer Madrid because it´s a much older city, and one could spend a month visiting solely the museums here, not to mention the monuments and parks. Barcelona is a beautiful city as well, however it seems almost too modern. Since you will already be on the coast for a week, why not travel to the interior for a bit? I hope this helps, and feel free to email me.

Barcelona, in a heartbeat. It has the very old (older than Madrid -- Roman era), the pretty old (Middle Ages and Renaissance), and the pretty modern (19th c. and Modernista style up to the present). It is a gorgeous city over the Mediterranean. It has a very cosmopolitan population but very interesting indigenous Catalan culture as well and, in my view, unspoiled by being overly commercialized. Madrid is interesting and semi-old, but it is less diverse, more of a working town, and if you go in the summer, you will be very aware of tourism, not to mention the heat. I loved Madrid, but I will be perpetually in love with Barcelona. Don't miss it. It's probably my favorite European city. Architecture, art, music, food, atmosphere, it has it all.

I second what Cass said (and said so well!)...Barcelona, in a heartbeat.

I totally agree. Barcelona in a heartbeat. Barcelona is one of the most interesting cities in Europe.

I'd vote for Barcelona. The sea, the Ramblas, the Gothic Quarter, Gaudi. Fabulous city.

Our family is interested in going to Spain for a week but really don't know where to"headquarters" our stay. We wanted Barcelona but kept reading all the stuff on Fodors about gypsies,safety issues,etc. Can a family go to Barcelona and leave with everything? We thought about flying into Barcelona and driving along the coast leaving out of Marseilles? Any thoughts-thanks!(What city area is considered Costa de Sol?)